ERIN STAVES

Magazine Research

Introduction to magazine research

I have begun to research magazines, I will be using inductive research to find common patterns

Whilst carrying out this research I have used a wide range of magazines as to get the best results

I will be looking for patterns such as; Common design themes Common content themes

The masthead for this magazine is the name of the magazine - ‘Empire’. It runs across the entire front of the magazine, this draws the attention of the reader. The use of the name of the magazine

shows that it is a trusted and well known magazine.

The strapline for this particular magazine is ‘KING SIZE’. In this

magazine the strapline is found at the bottom, it is

used to attract the audience.

The main image for this magazine is an image of a

character of a film they are using as their main article.

In this case, the main article is about Lord Of The Rings,

so the main image is a picture of Viggo Mortensen,

who plays an important character in the film.

A colour scheme is often used with magazines so

that the cover is aesthetically pleasing and

draws the reader in, in this case they have used a

white font against a darker background so that the content stands

out.

A tagline is often used in magazine covers to entice the reader. It makes the reader want to read the magazine

without giving too much away, in this case, Empire have used ‘WORLD EXCLUSIVE’ to add a

sense of elitism so that the reader wished to be a part of it

and as a result, buys the magazine.

The barcode and other essential information is quite small at the

bottom, this is so it does not take up much room that could be used for

content. The issue and release date are included in this section of the

magazine so the reader knows that the issue is recent.

The masthead is positioned at the top of the page. Additionally, as the masthead has the largest font on the cover and uses a different style of writing to the simplistic style headings on the cover, it stands out and draws

attention to the buyer. The masthead is written in bold & in white.

In the main image Florence Welch is making eye contact with the audience, this is to

engage the reader. Florence’s hair is used as the background

and the white writing contrasts the red of her hair. She has been made to look

attractive to attract readers.

The essential information is placed at the bottom of the page so that it does not take up much room but still provides important

information.

The strapline of this magazine is ‘I feel so alone FLORENCE,

woman on the edge’. This entices the target audience to find out more about Florence

Welch’s life and as a result, buy the magazine.

The left third introduces the other articles that

appear in the magazine, they have followed the white on red theme so that the writing stands

out on the page

The target audience for this kind of magazine are fans of the main feature, Florence Welch and also fans of music in general

as the magazine contains multiple articles on

different music genres.